Poland 'may not ratify ACTA'

Poland's culture minister has repeated that though the government has signed the ACTA agreement it may not be approved by the Polish parliament.

Bogdan Zdrojewski: photo - PR

Speaking on Polish Radio on Tuesday, Minister Bogdan Zdrojewski said that “it's quite simply very difficult to predict which act and which regulation will spark emotions,” referring to the strong protest that the government's signing of the agreement last week in Tokyo has sparked in the country.

He added that there had been “no sign” that ACTA would prove controversial until government web sites came under attack by Anonymous hackers ten days ago.

Poland's ambassador to Japan, Joanna Rodowicz-Czechowska signed the international agreement in Tokyo on 26 January, alongside the majority of EU member states.

However, the legislation must still pass through the Polish parliament.

“It may so happen that the ratification does not take place,” the minister reflected, adding that “it will certainly not take place in a hurry."

Zdrojewski suggested that although debate had not occurred prior to last week's uproar, “we really do have some time now, and it's worth making use of this time.”

The minister signalled that a final decision may not even be necessary for two years.

While declaring that the government was not seeking to limit the freedom of internet users, he said that the public should understand that “a certain level of responsibility should also apply” where the internet was concerned.

Meanwhile, Kader Arif, the European Parliament's independent monitor for the ACTA Agreement, has resigned from his post in objection to the way the matter was handled by the 22 EU member states that signed in Tokyo.

Kader Arif told the BBC that there had been “no consultation of the civil society, lack of transparency since the beginning of negotiations, repeated delays of the signature of the text without any explanation given,” as well as the “rejection of Parliament’s recommendations as given in several resolutions of our assembly.” (nh/pg)